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By S. M. Brisbane

THE life of refractory linings in rotary cement kilns can be shortened by uneven or inadequate support of the kiln and its shell and by variations in the conditions of operation. Alteration of these factors may, according to their nature, bring about mechanical deterioration of the lining or promote chemical attack. Chemical attack has been described elsewhere.1-4 The distortion of cement kilns has been discussed in a general manner by Rochow,6 ho indicates the amount of distortion which may occur in an unlined shell, and by Rosenblad: who states that the deformations of the shell are greatest above the trunnions. The present article indicates the extent of the distortion of a kiln to an oval shape in certain selected positions and the deviation from a straight line of the kiln along its length between two supports. The cement kiln is a long, hollow, rotating cylinder consisting of steel plates which may be either welded or riveted together. This shell is supported on tires, frequently 60 ft apart, which roll on trunnions. The large mass of the kiln causes distortion of its cross-section; it becomes slightly oval, i.e., diameters lengthen as they become horizontal and shorten as they become vertical. There is also a tendency for the shell to bow between supporting tires; this bowing may be upwards or downwards depending on the position of the weight forces and the supports. The extent of the deviations from the ideal kiln shape was investigated. Observations described in this paper were made on the shell of the clinkering zone between the first and second tires of two of the kilns at the Geelong works of Australian Portland Cement Pty. Ltd. The kilns were both 400 ft long and 10 ft diam with a welded enlarged burning zone 11 ft 6 in. diam. The shell was fabricated from mild steel and in this section its thickness was 1 in. It was lined with 41/2 in. of chemically bonded magnesite-chrome bricks which were jointed with mild steel plates. The kilns operate on a 4 pct slope and the speed may be varied between 0.75 and 1.68 rpm. The wet process is used; kilns are coal fired and are fitted with integral coolers. Temperatures within the kiln are difficult to determine with any accuracy because of the absence of black body conditions, but surface temperatures are probably in the range 1420° to 1470°C. Average shell .temperatures at the two positions at which the deformation studies were made were 370°C and 355"C respectively. Methods: In determining the ellipticity it was necessary to measure the lengths of the vertical and horizontal diameters while the kiln was in operation; data obtained from a stationary kiln would not have the same practical significance. For this purpose the four points V, W, X, and Y at the ends of two mutually perpendicular diameters were marked on one kiln. The point X is shown in Fig. 1. For the measurement of the length of the vertical diameter a vertical column, to which a horizontally aligned telescope was attached, was placed 10 ft from the kiln. The telescope could be racked up and down in a vertical plane. Two sets of readings were taken, one set when each of the points V, W, X, and Y was at its maximum height above the

Jan 1, 1957

By Frank Kneeland

SAFETY FIRST is a popular motto-most mining companies have adopted it. It is probable, however, that in the majority of cases it is only a motto and gets no further than the office stationery or the bulletin board at the mine's entrance. In but few industries is there employed a greater diversity of machinery and mechanical devices than in coal mining. The list ranges all the way from mechanical stokers to wood-working machinery and undercutters. Many of these devices, particularly those employed in wood working, are extremely dangerous. In 1913, 23 per cent. of all fatalities occurring in coal mining in the U. S. were caused by machinery of some sort or other. Although the forms of accidents occurring with mining machinery are legion, they generally arise from one or more of five causes: (a) Falls from ladders, platforms, etc.; (b) coming in contact with moving machines or parts thereof; (c) electric shocks; (d) failure of some machine part; (e) mismanipulation of valves, levers, switches or other hand-operated controlling devices. The steps which may be taken to prevent accidents from the above causes are almost as numerous as the accidents themselves. There is, and can be, no panacea for all mishaps, nor for any one class of accidents. There is no mathematical or other formula that will bring immunity under any set of conditions. Common sense is the only guide. The remedy for the first-named class of accidents is simple and generally effective-namely, make the staging, ladder, platform, or other support, abundantly strong to carry any possible weight that it may be called upon to bear; provide ample railings on platforms or runways, and non-slipping feet on movable ladders.

Jan 1, 1915

By B. K. Miller, R. S. Bradley

THE principal producing areas of fire clay in Missouri are: (I) the east central district, which includes Audrain, Callaway, Montgomery, Warren, and Boone Counties [ ] (Fig. I); (2) the St. Louis district, which includes St. Louis and St. Louis County; (3) the north central Ozark district, which includes Franklin, Gasconade, Osage, Maries, Phelps, and Crawford Counties. Most of the semiplastic[$] fire clay is found in Audrain, Callaway, Montgomery and St. Louis Counties, and in St. Louis. Flint fire clay is found in Callaway, Audrain, and Montgomery Counties and in most of the north central Ozark district. High-alumina diaspore clay is found only in the north central Ozark district, except a few deposits found in Montgomery County. This paper is concerned with the semiplastic fire clay that occurs in the east central Missouri district near Mexico, Audrain County, Missouri, which is mined by the open-pit method as practiced by the A. P. Green Fire Brick Co. About one-fourth of the semiplastic fire clay in that district is mined in shaft mines, and three-fourths in open pits.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. L. Thornburg

FLANKING the Valley of Mexico on the northeast is a mountain range known as the Sierra de Pachuca. This northwesterly-trending range is about 30 miles long and 5 miles wide, its summit attaining an elevation of more than 10,000 feet above sea level, or 2000 feet above the valley floor. Pachuca, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, lies nestled at the southwest base of the range, 60 miles northeast of Mexico City. Three miles to the east, just over the summit and on the northeasterly slope, is the mountain town of Real del Monte with a population of about 20,000. These are the two principal towns in a 40-sq mile area whose yield has brought the district to its high rank among the world's silver producers. Total production probably exceeds 1.25 billion ounces of silver and 4.5 million ounces of gold. Exploitation by the Spanish was under way by 1530. As the mines were deepened operations became handicapped by the inadequate method of handling water with horse whims and bull skins. To offset this disadvantage a two-mile drainage tunnel was started in 1749 and completed ten years later. John Taylor of London acquired the mines from the third Count of Regla in 1824 and formed the Compania de Real del Monte y Pachuca. Two years later Cornish pumps were brought from England. A Mexican company purchased the British interest in 1848 and within a few years resumed an old project of driving a second, lower three-mile drainage tunnel, completing it in 1857. After Americzn interests acquired control of the property in 1906 operations expanded to an unprecedented scale, despite periods of political strife, unstable prices, labor problems, and a growing burden of taxation. An idea of the scale of operations may be gained from records of the last two decades prior to 1947, the last year for which production information is at hand, during which time production ranged from 1.4 million to 1.1 million tons per year, and the combined development and exploration, exclusive of diamond drilling, amounted to about 18 miles annually. Pachuca differs from Zacatecas and some other Mexican silver vein districts that flourished and de- clined in earlier centuries in that a substantial part of its total production was made after 1900. While the district's accelerated activity in this century was largely due to the successful application of the cyanide process to the treatment of the ores, improved pumping methods, and new mechanical equipment, it was at the same time stimulated by the opening up of important new orebodies as a result of active and extensive exploration of the vein system. Some of these orebodies were found on veins which terminate upward far below the surface, and though these particular veins do not crop out, they show relationship with a type of alteration which may be their surface expression. The district has been studied by many able geologists, and a large store of information has been accumulated, much of which is recorded in published as well as private papers. Wall Rocks Extrusive Rocks: The Sierra de Pachuca is a thick accumulation of Tertiary eruptive rocks consisting mainly of flows, breccias, and tuffs. Numerous recognizable volcanic vents within the range itself manifest that the range was built up by material ejected from these vents. The maximum thickness of the volcanic pile is not known, but from deep exploration and from relationship with Mesozoic sediments to the north and east it is inferred that the average thickness in the main part of the district may be at least 6000 ft. The extrusive rocks comprise four general types, which in ascending order of age are: andesite, rhyolite, dacite, and basalt. The veins are confined largely to the andesite, the dominant rock of the region. Characteristically this rock is augite andesite, but it includes comparatively acidic as well as basic layers, the acidic strata being

Jan 1, 1953

By C. L. Thornburg

FLANKING the Valley of Mexico on the northeast is a mountain range known as the Sierra de Pachuca. This northwesterly-trending range is about 30 miles long and 5 miles wide, its summit attaining an elevation of more than 10,000 feet above sea level, or 2000 feet above the valley floor. Pachuca, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, lies nestled at the southwest base of the range, 60 miles northeast of Mexico City. Three miles to the east, just over the summit and on the northeasterly slope, is the mountain town of Real del Monte with a population of about 20,000. These are the two principal towns in a 40-sq mile area whose yield has brought the district to its high rank among the world's silver producers. Total production probably exceeds 1.25 billion ounces of silver and 4.5 million ounces of gold. Exploitation by the Spanish was under way by 1530. As the mines were deepened operations became handicapped by the inadequate method of handling water with horse whims and bull skins. To offset this disadvantage a two-mile drainage tunnel was started in 1749 and completed ten years later. John Taylor of London acquired the mines from the third Count of Regla in 1824 and formed the Compania de Real del Monte y Pachuca. Two years later Cornish pumps were brought from England. A Mexican company purchased the British interest in 1848 and within a few years resumed an old project of driving a second, lower three-mile drainage tunnel, completing it in 1857. After Americzn interests acquired control of the property in 1906 operations expanded to an unprecedented scale, despite periods of political strife, unstable prices, labor problems, and a growing burden of taxation. An idea of the scale of operations may be gained from records of the last two decades prior to 1947, the last year for which production information is at hand, during which time production ranged from 1.4 million to 1.1 million tons per year, and the combined development and exploration, exclusive of diamond drilling, amounted to about 18 miles annually. Pachuca differs from Zacatecas and some other Mexican silver vein districts that flourished and de- clined in earlier centuries in that a substantial part of its total production was made after 1900. While the district's accelerated activity in this century was largely due to the successful application of the cyanide process to the treatment of the ores, improved pumping methods, and new mechanical equipment, it was at the same time stimulated by the opening up of important new orebodies as a result of active and extensive exploration of the vein system. Some of these orebodies were found on veins which terminate upward far below the surface, and though these particular veins do not crop out, they show relationship with a type of alteration which may be their surface expression. The district has been studied by many able geologists, and a large store of information has been accumulated, much of which is recorded in published as well as private papers. Wall Rocks Extrusive Rocks: The Sierra de Pachuca is a thick accumulation of Tertiary eruptive rocks consisting mainly of flows, breccias, and tuffs. Numerous recognizable volcanic vents within the range itself manifest that the range was built up by material ejected from these vents. The maximum thickness of the volcanic pile is not known, but from deep exploration and from relationship with Mesozoic sediments to the north and east it is inferred that the average thickness in the main part of the district may be at least 6000 ft. The extrusive rocks comprise four general types, which in ascending order of age are: andesite, rhyolite, dacite, and basalt. The veins are confined largely to the andesite, the dominant rock of the region. Characteristically this rock is augite andesite, but it includes comparatively acidic as well as basic layers, the acidic strata being

Jan 1, 1953

This brief resume of events, transpiring in Mexico, culled from the daily New York newspapers, since the last Bulletin went to press, does not indicate any degree of improvement in the situation. MEXICAN MINISTER TO FRANCE RECOGNIZED A dispatch from Paris quotes Alberto J. Pani, Mexican Minister to France, as saying lie lead received notification that lie might present his credentials at the French Foreign Office on May 13. This notice came at the moment the Mexican press was announcing his departure for Spain because of inability to present his credentials. MORE REVOLUTIONARY TROUBLES SOUTH AND NORTH Revolutionary outbreaks hulked large in advices from Mexico City at the end of May, says the New York Tribune. General Eznesto Danny, a major, four other officers and forty men, composing a train guard on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railroad, were killed recently in an attack by rebels under Felix Diaz's command. The troubles in the south, coupled with the fact that Villa's activities in the north have necessitated sending troops to campaign against him, have reacted in the capital seriously, it is reported. Military guards hi Mexico City have been doubled and machine guns have been placed on the roofs of the National Palace and the Cathedral. STRIKE AND MARTIAL LAW IN MEXICO CITY Advices from Mexico City, according to the Evening Sun, said that virtually every school teacher in the city was out on strike and that recurrent rioting was being put clown by armed trucks manned by Federal soldiers. The strike of the school teachers was clue to the fact that they had not been paid for months, but the direct incitement is said to have been the contrast between their impoverished position and that of Carranza's generals, who are described as rolling in wealth, and who flaunted their opulence on the streets of Mexico, riding about in high powered automobiles with women bedecked with diamonds and other jewelry. The city is said to be virtually under martial law with no immediate prospect. of a subsidence of the bitter feeling against the military caste.

Jan 7, 1919

By Rossiter W. Raymond

In the course of this address, President Raymond referred to the law, said to have been discovered at the French works of Terrenoire, that the amount of phosphorus may be increased without injury to steel, if the amount of carbon be proportionately decreased. The works named have been for more than a year, it is said, manufacturing in the open hearth, by the Martin process, steel rails containing as high as 0.35 per cent. of phosphorus, with about 0.15 per cent. of carbon, which were not found inferior to Bessemer rails. It is not claimed by the manager of the works that phosphorus is an ingredient to be preferred, or purposely introduced; but only that materials containing it (such as old iron rails, etc.), can be succesfully employed. Other parties have apparently a higher opinion still of the new manipulation, and are prepared to claim for " phosphorus steel" superior qualities. Mr. I. Lowthian Bell alluded to the subject in his recent address as President of the British Iron and Steel Institute, but without expressing a positive opinion. After pointing out that the commercial value of the process turned on the cheap manufacture of ferro-manganese, by means of which only could the necessary amount of manganese be introduced into the Martin bath, without increasing its contents of carbon, Mr. Raymond proceeded to say that the principle alleged to have been discovered at Terrenoire was already known years ago, in this country, at least. Not only had steel been manufactured here, containing high percentages of phosphorus, coupled with low percentages of carbon, and suitable for use in rails, boiler-plates, etc., but the reason of its surprising qualities had been distinctly surmised, if not widely proclaimed. The following analyses and extracts from private letters prove these assertions. Some of them assert a similar principle in .the case of wrought iron; but the analyses, and the remarks based upon them, have reference solely to the steel manufactured under the superintendence of Mr. Slade, at the works of the New Jersey Steel and Iron Company in Trenton.

By Albert Arents

This test is based upon the fact that metallic copper will precipitate gold and silver upoil its surface from acid solutions. Of course, the fact is not new, but its application is probably so. I have used the method with success; it recommends itself by the rapidity and ease with which it may be carried on. An auriferous cyanide solution, if made acid with sulphuric acid and boiled with finely divided, pulverulent, metallic copper, will, within a short time, deposit its gold-content on the copper. Any silver in the solution is also precipitated. If this mixture is now filtered, the filter and contents may at once be subjected to a crucible assay treatment, and its lead buttons cupelled and determined. If, instead of taking cement-copper, or any metallic copperpowder, a solution of bluestone is used after acidification, and a few small pieces of sheet aluminum are added, and the solution boiled until all the copper has come down, the result as to the precipitation of gold and silver is the same. This modification takes more time and attention in boiling. If aluminum has been used, it should go into the crucible with the filter and

Jan 1, 1904

By A. Springer

Chemists, physicists and others, whose occupations necessitate the use of fine scales, have heretofore regretted their inability to obtain any which would remain uniformly accurate. The difference between the theoretical and the actual results obtained in the ordinary balance (provided the pivot-distances are exact) is mainly due to the frictional resistance between the knifeedges and their bearings. This frictional resistance, although reduced to a minimum in the finest scales when new, constantly increases, thereby decreasing the sensitiveness proportionately. When examined under the microscope, neither the surface of the knife-edge nor that of' its hearings ever appears perfectly smooth. Soft kunife-edges are easily blunted, whereas hard ones are brittle and liable to crumble under the effects of over-load or shock. Prof. Frederick A. Roeder for many years attempted to discover some means by ,which the knife-edge could be replaced with some device free from the above-mentioned objections. His experiments convinced him that a torsion-joint was best suited for that purpose. After he had communicated his conclusion to me, we jointly developed the system to its present form. A torsion-wire had been used for the centre of rotation, prior to Prof. Roeder's invention, but it was found impossible to replace the terminal knife-edges with torsion-joints.

Jan 1, 1884

By S. Fugleberg

As a result of research work done during the planning of the Kokkola zinc plant it was found that a very efficient cementation of impurities from the suspension obtained after leaching copper and cadmium cakes was achieved by adding zinc dust to the batch without filtration after the leaching. All elements nobler than cadmium are precipitated with the exception of lead, which must be removed in a separate step. Using pure zinc dust, free from noble metals, the cadmium sponge produced will only contain elements that can be re- moved from cadmium by meltrefining. The process is thus : 1. Leaching and purification 2. Removal of lead (with BaCO3) 3. Precipitation of cadmium sponge with pure zinc dust 4. Meltrefining of briquetted sponge with NaOH for removal of Zn (and others) The paper deals with the removal of the most critical elements, i.e. Co, Ni, As, Sb, Cu, Pb, T1 in the liquid phase and Zn and T1 in the melt. A survey is also given of the behaviour of most of the other elements normally found in Cd raw material, such as Ge, Te, Se, Sn, In, Ga. It is shown that in most cases the benefit of an electrolysis in Cd production is very limited. In Kokkola 99.998% Cd is achieved by this method, but in favourable cases it may be possible to come quite close to five nines.

Jan 1, 1973

By Ralph M. Barnett, Albert K. Smith

During the last few years, a great deal of interest has been aroused in the use of more refined blasting techniques. It has been the effort of many mining companies to reduce powder cost, obtain better rock breakage, reduce drilling costs and provide safer working places. With the advent of new types of powder and such techniques as cushion blasting, line blasting, smoothwall or soundwall blasting, and presplitting or preshearing, these goals are approaching reality. Smoothwall blasting and presplitting have re- ceived much attention at the Climax Molybdenum Co., Climax, Colo., mine because of the large cost factor involved. An experimental program was begun in 1961, and during 1964 to the present has been used in many working areas. Some spectacular results have been achieved by the operating personnel in hard ground, but the most beneficial results have been in areas where the ground has been soft and highly fractured.

Jan 7, 1965

By A. S. Keh, H. A. Wriedt

The Precipitation of nitrides in quenched Fe-N alloys, aged between 25° and 200°C, was studied by transmission electron microscopy. Different dislocation substructures were introduced into the materials by recrystallization, cold working, and by Phase transformation prior to the introduction of nitrogen. It was found that the precipitated nitrides, tentatively identified as Fe16N2, have (100) habit planes. Nucleation takes place Preferentially at dislocations and at subboundaries. It sometimes occurs in the matrix, probably on vacancy clusters, but rarely on high-angle boundaries. The process of nucleation on dislocations and subboundaries is very temperature dependent. At room temperature there is no particular orientation relationship between the dislocations involved and the (100) planes on which the nitride Particles formed. With increasing temperature, the nucleation sites tend to become restricted to those dislocation segments lying in (100) planes. The change of yield stress of the 0.022 and 0.043 pet N alloys during quench aging can be correlated semiquantitatively with the change in particle distribution. Strain aging in quenched alloys can be separated into two stages. The early stage is attributed to nitrogen segregation to dislocations and the later stage is associated with precipitation. When previously quench-aged specimens were strained and aged, no additional Precipitates could be seen, although a considerable amount of strain aging occurred. DURING the past two decades, the precipitation of nitrides from a iron has been extensively studied by various techniques. It has been established that two types of nitride exist. The stable nitride, Fe4N, forms at temperatures above 250oC and Fe16N2, the

Jan 1, 1962

By L. S. Panyity

The Cleveland (0.) gas pool described by Frank R. Van Horn,' is the northern extremity of the great "Clinton" sand gas development in Ohio. Numerous gas pools have been developed in this formation, which are now more or less connected, link by link, forming an almost continuous gas pool, starting at Cleveland, and running thence southward through Cuyahoga, Medina, Wayne, Ashland, Richland, Knox, Licking,

Jan 1, 1918

By Eugene Guccione

For at least a decade, the energy crisis was accurately predicted by a small number of industry people who were ignored until last year, when they suddenly found themselves accused for their "lack of planning" and "greed." With the worsening shortage of natural gas and oil, the current scramble is for alternate energy sources-which means: a big rush into coal and uranium mining. (Some big plans are also on the drawing boards regarding geothermal steam, oil shale, tar sands, and even solar energy. But developing such new industries from scratch would be difficult enough even in a healthy economic climate-which is not exactly what the country currently enjoys.)

Jan 8, 1974

By C. A. Stickels

In a recent paper, Held1 showed that rolling conditions can have a marked effect on the volume fraction of surface texture produced in low-carbon steel. This variation in rolling texture is reflected in the recrys-tallization texture and affects the plastic properties of the annealed sheet. The fact that roll friction can influence the surface deformation texture in iron and steel has been known for some time;'= but the magnitude of the effect has never been shown quite so clearly before. The analogous effect during wire drawing has been recognized for many year.4 Dillamore and Roberts5 examined surface textures in warm- and cold-rolled aluminum and copper. They found that when a surface texture was present it could be described as the interior texture rotated about the transverse sheet direction. The angle of rotation was a function of the type of lubrication, the amount of reduction per pass, and the temperature of rolling. The purpose of the present note is to show that surface textures in cold-rolled iron can also be described as interior textures rotated about the transverse sheet direction. Vacuum-melted electrolytic iron* was straight- rolled 90 pct at room temperature in a two-high rolling mill with 5-in.-diam rolls. Two rolling procedures were used: a) no lubrication with reductions of about 0.035 in. per pass, and b) heavy lubrication with lano-line and reductions of about 0.002 in. per pass. The final sheet thickness was 0.030 in. (110) pole figures were determined by transmission through specimens taken from the sheet surface and sheet midplane. The surface texture of the sheet cold-rolled according to procedure a is shown in Fig. l.* The shapes of the low-intensity contour lines indicate that the texture can be described as a partial fiber texture with a (110) fiber axis normal to the sheet. The approximate range of orientstions present is (011)[211] — (0ll)[100] — (011)[211]. This range of orientations is what one would obtain by rotating the interior texture 90 deg about the transverse sheet direction. The intensity of (110) and (222) reflections from planes parallel to the surface was measured after removing metal from the surface by chemical polishing. The surface texture here was confined to the outer

Jan 1, 1968

By Henry Howland

INTRODUCTION DURING the last decade no topic has created more interest or received more thought among blast-furnace men than colic. One reason for this is, undoubtedly, the remarkable increase in the use of byproduct coke. Formerly our coke was made at a distance from the furnaces and by a distinct organization. There was little cooperation or development possible under these conditions. Today the situation is greatly changed. Much of our coke is made by the organization operating the furnaces and the coke oven is operated with the primary object of obtaining the best results in the blast furnace. The effect of changing the method of coke manufacture, even in some minor detail, is often felt almost immediately at the blast furnace. There naturally results one of the most valuable assets of the byproduct coke oven, -i.e., the possibility of increased blast-furnace efficiency clue to close observance and correct operation of the ovens. The results are evident, but it often is difficult correctly to account for them. In attacking the solution of a problem of as much importance as why one coke is better than another, there are facts which should be kept clearly in mind The author hopes, in this paper, to bring out some points relative to the use of carbon in the blast furnace which will be of value in solving this question.

Jan 3, 1916

By W. Mont Ferry

It is impossible to speak in exact terms of the effect that selective flotation has had, is having, and may have on the State of Utah. Its results enter into the economic structure of the state in so many ways and its ramifications are so widespread, that every line of industry is affectcd. Some effects can be definitely determined; others can be reasonably approximated; but the effect as a whole can not be set out in exact figures. Utah is essentially a mining state; mining is its basic industry and always will be. Agriculture, equally a basic industry, and of course, equally vital, can be practiced on only 6 per cent. of the 85,000 square miles of its area. It follows, therefore, that the economic future of this state depends upon a development of its natural resources. About 6 or 7 years ago, the mining industry in Utah was at a low ebb. This condition was caused partly by postwar conditions and other temporary causes, but prevailed also, which was most important, because the direet-smelting ores of the state were being rapidly exhausted and the cost of treatment of complex ores was almost prohibitive. Furthermore, the wet concentration of low-grade ores was unsatisfactory and did not result in producing a good smelting product. On visualizing this situation, one of the large smelting companies in the valley had the courage, ability and faith to develop and expand the principles involved in selective flotation of complex ores. This example has been followrd by other smelting and reduction companirs and the result has changed the entire aspect of the mining industry in Utah. The utilization of the zinc in the low-grade, lead-zinc-silvrr ores was the principal prob1t.m to be solvcd. The average yearly production from the State of Utah for the 10 years beginning 1914 and ending 1923, was something less than 10,000 tons of zinc corlcentrates. This period includes the world war, when abnormal priccs stimulated production. In 1924, selective flotation began to be practiced on a considerable scale, replacing concentration by gravity and bulk flotation which had been used generally until this time. Production and Value of Zinc Concentrates The production of zinc concentrates during 1924 was approximately 24,000 tons, or twice the average yearly production of the previous 10

Jan 1, 1928

By Grover J. Holt

A DETAILED description of the many variations in iron mining and transportation practice in Minnesota would require much space. Since a fairly detailed description of the practices then in use was published in the guidebook issued in connection with the meeting of the Institute on the iron ranges in I920, and subsequent developments have been described by E. E. Hunner,1 M. H. Barber,2 and A. E. Anderson, J. M. Riddell and G. J. Holt,3 it will not be necessary here to do more than review the highlights of current practice. Details on any points of interest can be obtained through correspondence with the operators involved. [T] The iron ores of Minnesota, which have been formed through enrichment of the iron formation in which they occur, largely by the removal of silica, are usually covered by a blanket of glacial drift known locally as "surface." Surface material, including sand, clay, hardpan and boulders, makes up the greater portion of the stripping in open-pit operations. In some instances, stripping also includes taconite and "paint rock," directly below the surface material and overlying the ore. Taconite is the iron formation, a ferruginous chert with interbedded slate layers. "Paint rock" is a local term for oxidized slate layers interbedded in the iron formation, high in phosphorus, alumina and moisture. The iron ores fall into two classes: (I) direct shipping (merchantable ores or ores requiring no treatment except possibly crushing or screening to make an acceptable sized product), and (2) ores requiring beneficiation (such as sintering, drying, washing, jigging, high-density treatment, or magnetic separation in the case of magnetite). The Mesabi Range produces chiefly soft Bessemer and non-Bessemer ores. The Cuyuna Range produces mainly low-manganese brown ore and high-manganese black ores, with some iron ore. The Vermilion Range yields mainly Besse¬mer and non-Bessemer iron ore, with some hard or lump ore that finds use in the open hearth. Open-pit mining is limited to the Mesabi and Cuyuna Ranges but underground mining is done on all three. The choice of mining methods is determined by the relative economics of overburden¬-removal and shaft-mining costs. STRIPPING PRACTICE Common practice has been to remove the bulk of the overburden during the winter season and to mine during the summer. In the present emergency many operators are forced to forego the economies attained by year-round utilization of equipment and to equip for, and carry on, stripping and mining simultaneously. In the normal years or lean years to come, most properties probably will be over-equipped and high depreciation charges will have to be absorbed.

Jan 1, 1942

By David B. Brooks

INTRODUCTION Resources are not; they become (Zimmermann 100) . The companion concepts of reserves and resources appear, one way or another, in almost all considerations of mineral supply. Yet, no other concepts in the economics of the mineral industries have occasioned so much confusion. Whereas everyone agrees that in general the terms refer to the amounts of material that-depending upon technology, market conditions, and institutions-will become available for production in the near or more distant future, the apparent agreement disappears when we come to more specific definitions or to application of the definitions. Some definitions emphasize the physical aspects of reserves and resources, while others emphasize the economic. Some treat reserves and resources as fixed quantities, while others regard them as continually varying. Some consider that reserve and resource estimates have validity only for individual deposits, while others insist that they can be measured with sufficient accuracy for regional or national planning. This confusion in concepts that lies at the very heart of mineral economics is both strange and not so strange. It is common in the social sciences to find concepts that have been adopted into scientific jargon from popular usage and given rather special meanings -at the same time that they continue to be widely used without such qualifications. Psychologists have the same trouble with personality and sociologists, with community. Nevertheless, an attempt must be made to straighten out the various meanings of reserves and resources, or at least to clarify the conditions under which different meanings are applicable, before much progress in analysis of mineral problems can be expected. That is the objective of this chapter. Throughout the chapter, an attempt has been made to provide enough references to guide the interested reader to the most pertinent works on the concepts under study. However, even in a review article, it is no longer feasible to provide a comprehensive set of citations; there are simply too many. In many instances the works cited will themselves include the bibliographies needed to complete a literature search; those that are particularly useful in this respect are so noted. Also, because of the limited availability of foreign periodicals, some important works -originating largely in Canada, France, the

Jan 1, 1976

By Willard P. Ward

It is the object of the present paper to bring to the notice of members of this Institute, the results of experiments made during the past six months in the manufacture of the alloys of iron and manganese in the blast-furnace. The ores at hand and available for the purpose were brown hematites, containing but a very small percentage of manganese, and various manganese ores containing a small percentage of iron. It is hardly necessary here to call attention to the statements regarding the production of iron-manganese alloys from such ores, which are given by all the well-recognized authorities on metallurgy. Suffice it to say, in a few words, that they hold that the operation is practically impossible, and that in the use of oxides of iron and manganese, mechanically intermixed in the same ore, much difficulty has been found in producing spiegeleisen. Spathic ores, containing manganese chemically combined, are alone recommended for the production of spiegel, and even then it is said that well-managed furnaces produce only about 75 to 80 per cent. of spiegel, the balance of the production being white laminated pig or gray iron.